How to Fight Fires From a Plane

By Malia Wollan

Sept. 4, 2015

Image

CreditCreditIllustration by Radio

‘‘Your job is to slow the fire down and buy time for the firefighters on the ground,’’ says John Gallaher, a pilot who travels the country dropping fire retardant from the air. Every morning, check out of your hotel, and be prepared to check into another one thousands of miles away at day’s end. Always keep your packed bags loaded in the plane.

‘‘Think of it like a military deployment,’’ he says. Gallaher, 53, left his home in Washington in April and does not expect to be back until the end of November. Fire seasons are getting longer. This summer, Gallaher was subcontracted by his employer, Neptune Aviation Services, in Montana, to stay in California, where more than 340,000 acres have burned since January. Most years, he works for the United States Forest Service, sometimes battling fires in as many as four states in a single 24-hour stretch.

Once you reach the fire, join the so-called orbit of planes circling above and await instructions. To understand the cryptic-sounding commands — ‘‘Start at the heel and carry your retardant up the left flank’’ — you’ll need to be familiar with what firefighters call ‘‘fire anatomy.’’ A blaze’s start point is its heel; its head is the fast-burning forefront.

Learn to quickly read the signs of what’s happening below you. Smoke whirling in on itself suggests unstable air. A strong, dominant wind sends vapors into a telltale unidirectional lean. ‘‘Don’t put any part of your airplane in the flames,’’ says Gallaher, seemingly simple advice that becomes less so when flares leap hundreds of feet from the crowns of trees. This is not flying by autopilot. You will be swooping in low, over rough, unfamiliar terrain. ‘‘It is an environment that is terribly unforgiving of mistakes,’’ he says.

For the most precise targeting, open the belly of your plane — this season, Gallaher is flying a BAe 146 regional air carrier modified with a 3,000-gallon tank in place of seats — and release the retardant, a gooey mix of ammonium phosphate and sulfate salts, about 150 feet above the vegetation. ‘‘Your goal is not to drop on people, structures, vehicles or animals,’’ Gallaher says.

Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of The New York Times Magazine delivered to your inbox every week.